Drinking Coffee as a Kid

Starbucks sippy cupI invented Starbucks as a kid. Okay, not really, but I wonder if I could’ve. Back in the 1980s, before gourmet cafes became all the rage, I liked to mix up elaborate drinks. Sometimes I wonder, if I were older, would I have founded a major coffee shop chain? Probably not, but its still fun to pretend.

I drank coffee from a young age. Very young. I can’t remember the first time I tried it, but I remember enjoying it. Of course, it wasn’t my parents who gave it to me. They were too responsible for that. No, it was my grandparents introduced me to it. I have fond memories of sitting at their kitchen table, with my grandma baking cookies and my grandpa smoking a cigarette and complaining about the weather. I liked sitting there making concoctions out of coffee, chocolate syrup and ice cream. (My mother claims that I once mixed root beer into my drink, but I don’t remember that.)

The time spent with my grandparents gave me a true appreciation for coffee. Not just for the flavor of the drink, but for the routine and ritual of it. It’s an appreciation I hold dear to this day, even if I didn’t make a million dollars selling elaborate concoctions.

Coffee drinkers, How old were you when you started drinking? Let me know in the comments.

Steve Lovelace

Steve Lovelace is a writer and graphic artist. After graduating Michigan State University in 2004, he taught Spanish in Samoa before moving to Dallas, Texas. He blogs regularly at http://steve-lovelace.com.

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15 Responses

  1. Danell says:

    Is this cup for real? I want one…if so where can I get one?

    • Dannell, I’m afraid it’s fake. I photoshopped it myself. Though who knows, Swingline didn’t make a red stapler till one was featured in “Office Space”, so maybe we can get someone at Starbucks to make one.

  2. Hubert Savell says:

    I say your picture of a Starbucks sippy cup. One question, how do I get one? I work at a facility for the developmentally disabled. I have residents that cannot use a regular cup. But in keeping with the standards that we work under, any anything they use has to be age appropriate. One individual I work with would love a cup like that and it would be very functional.

    Thank You
    Hubert Savell

  3. Jessica Sodeke says:

    You can get one on ThinkGeek.com. They are sold out now, but you can have them email you when they are available! I’m waiting for one too. Hubert, I hope you get one for your resident! That’s the sweetest thing ever.

  4. Christy says:

    You can find a a similar sippy cup from Amazon; it says “baby ducks.” but is meant to look like the Starbucks logo! I originally found it at http://www.thinkgeek.com, but it’s been out of stock for awhile.

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